Last week I had the pleasure of taking a tour through David and Dorit Nahmias‘ distillery in Yonkers, NY (video to follow). Nahmias et Fils produces a distinctive, delicious, fig based uniquely Jewish, Moroccan liqueur – Mahia – and an un-aged unique white whiskey produced from rye – Legs Diamond.

David Nahmias is fulfilling his lifelong dream of continuing in his family’s footsteps; his father, his uncles, proud descendants from a long line of Moroccan tzaddikim and rabbanim produced Mahia in Morocco, their ancestral home. When Dorit lost her job as a banker, both she and her husband took it as a sign that they should establish the old family business right here in the US. The distillery has only been in production for just over 5 months and its products already appear in stores shelves in the New York area and in various California cities.

As you walk through their facility, while smelling the strong aroma of fermented figs, you feel immediately transported to Morocco, with authentic fabric covered low seats, with wall decorations that light up your imagination and give you visions of life in a more innocent, more beautiful, more hospitable setting, far from the hustle and bustle of New York.

Mahia is a liqueur made from figs and aniseed, it tasted just sweet enough without its sweetness being overpowering. It would go great as an accompaniment to a dessert, to a somewhat salty cheese or just by itself. Both SYR and I, found it delightful!

When I first saw the bottle of white, un-aged, un-oaked, white rye whiskey, I thought I’d be tasting something resembling a strong vodka. In any case, I thought (being used to aged single malt scotches) that the Legs Diamond would not only burn my throat, but probably even burn a hole as it worked its way down the pipes. I was pleasantly surprised when this whiskey made from mashed, fermented and carefully distilled grain, turned out to be incredibly smooth and left me with a hint of sweetness.

Nahmias et Fils will be coming out with more products soon, including aged whiskey, an apple based liqueur and more. If their first two offering are an example of their craft, I can’t wait to sample whatever else they’ll produce!

When I first arrived in Richmond, Va, in 1962 – straight from Montevideo, Uruguay, where I grew up – my first Shabbos on American shores, my parents and I attended a big kiddush in our new shul. Alongside the standard kugel, chulent, pastries and spirits, I got my first taste of a very delicious dark red liqueur with a strong, not overly sweet, black cherry flavor. It was love at first sip for me and Cherry Heering! Through the years, whether in Richmond, NY, Detroit, Eretz Yisroel, or wherever life’s path took me, there was always that familiar, delicious bottle of Cherry Heeringcalling my name at every kiddush, every simcha, every family get together.

Like an old friend, seeing Cherry Heering among the liqueurs adorning the table, brings back warm memories and great moments of my past. At each son’s bar mitzva Cherry Heering was there, a guest tmidi - a constant complement to our simchas, warming hearts, with its distinct familiar cherry flavor, admittedly the cordial of initiation to each of my three sons.

After the 90’s, it disappeared from Jewish liquor stores and I missed it. Now it’s back, as good as ever along with an additional coffee flavour choice! Since 1818 Cherry Heering, has been appearing all over the world and is sold in over 100 countries. In 1936 it became the main ingredient of that most celebrated of cocktails the Singapore Sling. Not all the ingredients of this cocktail are kosher today but you can still make delicious drinks with Cherry Heering and Coffee Heering. Here are some of my favorite ones:

Coffee Sourz

1 part Heering Coffee Liqueur

1 part lemon juice

1 part simple syrup

Fill a shaker with ice. Add ingredients, shake well and serve in a rocks glass. Garnish with a lemon slice and a cherry.

Cherry Fizz

Shake Cherry Heering and lemon juice over ice and pour into a highball glass with 2 ice cubes in it. Ad carbonated water and a cherry.

I just picked a few bottles (full size and mini size for the mishloach manot on Purim) of each Peter Heering flavor at Liquors Galore (1212 Avenue J in Brooklyn 11230) but it’s also available all over.

It can and will greatly enhance your Purim as Rukhl Schaechter and Eve Jochnovich tell us in the following video: